Balloon disaster survivor flies home with his wife’s remains

THE Scots survivor of the Egyptian hot air balloon disaster delayed his return home so he could travel with the body of his wife.

The tragedy on Tuesday happened near the end of a dawn flight above the ancient temple city of Luxor

Michael Rennie, 49, had been expected to leave a Cairo hospital early yesterday morning and head straight to the airport.

But the construction worker, from Perth, waited an extra six hours to be discharged while authorities arranged for his beloved wife Yvonne’s remains to be repatriated on the same flight.

Yvonne, 48, along with Joe Bampton, 40, and Hungarian-born Zsi Gyetvai, 34, from south London, were among the 19 tourists who perished.

The Britons had been travelling with tour operator Thomas Cook and had booked their balloon trip separately with Bright Sky Travel.

Mr Rennie, who described Yvonne as his “rock”, was last night due to fly into London Heathrow after a five-hour flight from Cairo.

He was expected to stay with family members including son William, 27, and daughter Sara, 23, from his first marriage to Pauline Weeks, before returning to Scotland.

Earlier, security was tight as Mr Rennie left the Nasser Institute hospital.

Just before 2pm local time, staff loaded his solitary piece of luggage, adorned with a sticker of the Saltire, into a waiting saloon car with blacked-out windows.

He spent his last morning in Egypt preparing for the trip in his hospital room with a British embassy official and a representative of Thomas Cook.

Hospital officials confirmed Mrs Rennie’s remains were going with him on the same flight. Dr Mohammed Salah El Din, director of medical tourism, said: “He left the hospital and went to the airport.

“It was planned he was going to leave at 8am but he postponed it in order to take his wife’s body with him, as it was in another place outside the hospital.”

Mr Bamford’s body was also expected to be on the same flight, according to the doctor.

His girlfriend’s remains were to be flown to Hungary.

It was planned he was going to leave at 8am but he postponed it in order to take his wife’s body with him, as it was in another place outside the hospital

Dr Mohammed Salah El Din

The tragedy on Tuesday happened near the end of a dawn flight above the ancient temple city of Luxor.

A landing rope became entangled with a helium gas tube, severing it and starting a fire.

Mr Rennie fell 45 feet to the ground from the burning basket and he ran 250 yards along a track screaming, “My wife, my wife” as the doomed craft soared into the air before exploding at 1,000ft and then plummeting to the ground.

The Egyptian pilot managed to leap out just before Mr Rennie and was the only other survivor. He is badly burned.

Authorities have grounded all hot air balloon flights while they investigate the crash.

Mr Rennie, who works for the construction firm Carillion, and his wife – a medical receptionist at Perth Royal Infirmary – got married at Gretna Green just five years ago.